


commitment

by scintilla10



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Banter, First Time, Forced Marriage, Marriage, Multi, Something Made Them Do It, Threesome - F/M/M, tree fertility rituals, tree spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-14 23:15:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13600506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scintilla10/pseuds/scintilla10
Summary: In all the time Wynonna had spent demon-hunting as the Earp heir, the topic of tree-dictated marriage requirements had not come up. Not even once. It seemed really fucking rude for it to come up now, in the middle of the night, while she was covered in mud and tree gunk and desperately in need of a shower.





	commitment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [entwashian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/entwashian/gifts).



> Content note: this is a tree-spirits-made-them-get-married story, so there is an element of coercion or dubious consent to the marriage. However, all characters clearly consent to sex.

In all the time Wynonna had spent demon-hunting as the Earp heir, the topic of tree-dictated marriage requirements had not come up. Not even once. It seemed really fucking rude for it to come up now, in the middle of the night, while she was covered in mud and tree gunk and desperately in need of a shower.

The tree spirit floating in front of them was glowing green-white-iridescent. It was almost blinding to look at her, so Wynonna couldn’t actually make out her features. She was definitely mad, though. Furious.

“Look,” Wynonna said loudly, since neither Doc’s nor Dolls’ attempts at fast-talking seemed to be making any kind of impression on the tree spirit. “I’m really sorry, but we didn’t mean to shoot at your tree, okay?”

It hadn’t been their fault the bear-demon-thing had drawn them into the middle of the woods. But between Wynonna and Doc’s guns, the powder-explosion-thing Jeremy had mixed up to help lure the demon bear, and the tree gunk-splosion, the clearing was the worse for wear. Wynonna hoped it wasn't the tree spirit's house or whatever. The ruined giant fir was scorched and twisted, shriveled somehow now that all of its innards had been magically sprayed over the three of them. Doc and Dolls had borne as much of the brunt of that as Wynonna, but somehow managed not to look as bedraggled as she felt. Well, that was a great boost for her self-esteem.

It was hard to understand the tree spirit -- or her friends, who kept showing up in a growing ominous glowing circle at the edges of the clearing. Waverly and Jeremy had inched towards the centre where Wynonna, Doc and Dolls were standing.

"Ooookay, this is getting creepy," Waverly said.

“It's kind of like Treebeard living in our backyard,” Jeremy was babbling, until Doc helpfully shushed him.

The tree spirit flashed brightly at them again -- Wynonna blinked away a succession of rapid imagery burning brightly into her retina before disappearing: a tiny green shoot, tree roots, a bee, warm sunlight.

“Bees?” Doc said. Dolls was staring in frustration at the main tree spirit. Wynonna shook her head, trying to get a handle on the images.

Of course it was Waverly who seemed to get the gist of the tree spirit's visual-thought-conversation best. “She’s just saying it again. This sacrilege requires a -- an oath, a contract. A marriage?”

Her voice squeaked upwards on the last word.

“Well, I’m not getting engaged to a tree!” Wynonna snapped, glaring at the tree spirit. 

Roots in the earth, the scent of rain hanging in the air --

“Er, not to a tree,” Waverly said.

“Well, then, what contract do the trees require?” Doc demanded.

The next images were so rapidfire, Wynonna couldn't hope to catch them.

Waverly swallowed and then said, “For those honoured by the trees’ gifts --”

“ _Honoured?_ ” Wynonna demanded, glaring down at the sticky tree gunk she was wearing.

“-- must contract themselves to -- to one another. To honour the trees in return.”

Wynonna frowned in the tree spirit’s direction. “You’re saying that just because we caused the trees to spray us with their maple syrup sap-jizz -- now we have to, what, agree to plant a bunch more trees?”

“Technically, it’s resin, not sap,” Jeremy pointed out, and stepped back when Wynonna glared at him.

“Ah, well, no,” Waverly said. “I think it’s more like … you have to get married.”

There was a moment of silence. The tree spirits circling them murmured indistinctly, leaves whispering in the branches.

“Sorry, run that by me again. Who has to get married?” Dolls said.

“Those who were honoured by the trees. To, uh, to each other.”

Wynonna very carefully did not look at either Doc or Dolls, and swallowed against the sudden hammering of her heart.

“Oh. My. God,” Jeremy said, wide-eyed.

Waverly scrunched up her face apologetically in Wynonna’s direction.

“Well,” Wynonna said, when no one else seemed willing to say anything. “We’re not doing that. And even if we wanted to -- to -- even if we did, our modern world isn’t as accepting as tree-world. It’s not like three people can even get married.”

Dolls started coughing.

“I don’t think that’s quite how it works,“ Waverly said.

“Might a single union satisfy the spirits?” Doc said. “For example, if I were to step aside in favour of Deputy Marshal Dolls and Wynonna --”

“Hey, don’t try to slither out of this one,” Dolls said, eyes narrowing. 

“Slither?” Doc said in an affronted tone. “I am merely trying to permit a burgeoning romance between two of my closest --”

“You and Wynonna have just as much history and could get married just as easily --”

“Or hell, why don’t the two of you get hitched!” Wynonna put in, and when they both glanced at her, wide-eyed, she glared at them.

“Oh. My. God,” Jeremy said again.

“Uh, I don’t think it has to be a legally recognized marriage,” Waverly put in. “A three-person, um, commitment would probably work.”

Wynonna glared at her sister. That was not helpful. At all. 

Also, glaring at Waverly meant that she didn’t have to make eye contact with Doc or Dolls.

“Can’t I just shoot something?” she demanded. “I’m really good at shooting things.”

Belatedly, Wynonna remembered the shooting that had (well, partly) got them into this situation in the first place. Thankfully, no one else bothered to call her on it. For once.

“Does this contract include, ah, consummation?” Doc said. 

Wynonna choked. 

“What,” Dolls said.

Doc’s gaze flickered between her and Dolls and then away. Wynonna wasn’t sure what he saw in her face. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. 

Waverly shrugged helplessly.

Jeremy said, “Resin isn’t typically associated with reproduction in flora, but certain hormone proteins could --”

“Jeremy, so help me God,” Wynonna said, and he shut his mouth.

“And what happens if we just, uh, don’t?” Dolls said, his jaw tight. “Get married?”

Wynonna looked over at him, and he glanced back at her with an awkward smile-grimace. Stupid trees. They were blowing up her carefully negotiated interpersonal status quo. 

The tree spirit rumbled ominously, and there was no mistaking the threatening imagery of the thought-visuals that followed.

“Oh,” Waverly breathed.

“Fuck,” Wynonna said.

Which was how the three of them found themselves in some kind of tree marriage ceremony in a nearby grove, surrounded by only-slightly-less-ominous green-glowing tree spirits.

"How romantic," Wynonna said. 

No one laughed.

“Maybe you should hold hands?” Waverly suggested from the edge of the clearing.

Wynonna shot her a look, and Waverly smiled encouragingly at her. Doc took her hand, though, and took Dolls’ as well, and then she and Dolls grasped hands, too, and they were standing awkwardly in a circle.

She had ever really been the kind of kid who dreamed about their wedding day, but if she had, this definitely would not have been it.

“Well,” Doc said. “Who wants to go first?”

It took effort for all three of them to avoid eye contact so determinedly, Wynonna thought. At the edge of the clearing, both Waverly and Jeremy gave them a dorky wave.

Beside her, Dolls heaved in a breath. “I’ll go,” he said, not-quite-looking at them. Wynonna ducked her head, unable to make herself look at him. “Wynonna Earp and Doc Holliday. I pledge to hold you under my protection -- though, obviously, you can both protect yourselves, too. I promise to -- to care for you as you have cared for me. And to hold your secrets as you have held mine. In the, um, the presence of these honored trees. Uh, for long as we all shall live, etc. and so on.”

Doc’s hand tensed convulsively on hers, and Wynonna shot Dolls a look. He pulled a face back at her.

Wynonna drew in a breath. There was something warm buzzing through her body. Tree magic? She eyed the tree spirits around them. “I’ll go next,” she said, and managed a grin. “Treely beloved, we are gathered here today ...” 

She stopped. Still, no one was laughing. Dolls was looking at her, his dark eyes wounded, and Doc’s hand tightened on hers again, a warning this time, before he glanced away. “No jokes?” she said. “Come on.”

She looked over a Waverly, who gave her a beseechingly intense look. 

“Can I just say ditto?”

“No. You cannot,” Doc gritted out.

“Fine, fine,” she said. “Fine.” She swallowed. “Doc. Dolls. Uh, Xavier, sorry. Fuck. You two shitheads -- sorry -- have been my -- my partners for a while now. The best partners a person could ask for, considering. I would like you to continue to be my partners.” She paused. “Right. So, I promise to keep being your partner, in all the ways that matter, for as long as you want me.” She avoided looking at Doc or Dolls by glaring at Waverly. “Is that good enough?”

Waverly smiled at her, and nodded.

This time, it was Dolls who squeezed her hand, his expression soft. Her whole body was humming with warmth now, making her feel shivery down to her toes. Yeah, she was aware of what that sounded like. If this was all leading to some kind of fucking tree orgasm --

She turned to Doc, swallowed, said, “You go now.” 

His eyes were dark as he looked at her.

“Wynonna,” he said, and stopped. “You already know how your friendship and affection has changed the course of my life.” She shut her eyes so she didn’t have to look at him. “Deputy Marshal Dolls, I treasure your companionship, of course -- and I admire and am grateful for the depths of your loyalty and strength.” He paused and cleared his throat. “It would be my great honour to entrust my time on this earth into both of your hands.”

Wynonna shivered, her whole body tingling, and slitted her eyes open. Dolls murmured a wordless assent, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Doc lower his head, cheeks flushed.

“Why'd there have to be feelings,” she muttered. 

Wynonna's hands felt warm -- too warm, suddenly, as though something was shocking through their bodies all at once. She tried to let go, but it was impossible to break the circuit, and she swallowed down her gasp even as she heard Dolls’ intake of breath. 

The tree spirits ringing around them seemed to burn from green to blinding white as the trees in the clearing around them shivered, shaking snow from their evergreen needles. It smelled green, suddenly, rich and earthy and leafy, like springtime and clear rain and tiny shoots bursting from the ground --

Then there was an unnatural silence in the clearing, like the crystal moment after a bell rang out. 

The tree spirits were gone, and the stars shone brightly now in the dark winter sky. Wynonna blinked the ring of blinding light from her vision.

"Well," Doc said, and cleared his throat. "Well. It seems to have worked."

“Yeah,” Dolls said thickly.

Wynonna’s body was still buzzing with heat. She felt a little light-headed, her thoughts unable to quite catch up. Her skin felt hot.

This time, when she tried to let go of their hands, she was able to. She looked down at her hands. Her knuckles were crusted with dirt, and her nails were a mess. Was there a small band of lighter skin ringing her finger? 

God, that had to be an illusion.

She blinked again.

“Wow,” Waverly said, sounding awed. “That was beautiful.”

“Mazel tov,” Jeremy added. "That was my first tree-wedding."

Tree-wedding. Goddamnit, she had just been tree-married to two men she had been avoiding having the relationship talk with. Great planning. Just great. Great, great, great.

Wynonna flexed her hands and forced a bright grin on her face.

“Anyone else need a drink,” she said.

\-----

No one made any wedding night jokes, thank fuck for small mercies. Actually, Wynonna was pretty sure Waverly had stomped on Jeremy’s toe just in time to prevent one, but she was happy to pretend she hadn’t noticed it.

Waverly also cleared Jeremy out of their house post-ritual, and helpfully left a bottle on the table. Though Wynonna figured one was not gonna be enough for this situation. But at least when she finally came downstairs from her extra-long shower, Doc and Dolls were already drinking in uncomfortable silence.

“Oh, great,” she said. “This tense silence is just what I was hoping for. Maybe I should go have another shower.”

"Yeah, actually, I think you missed some by your ear," Dolls told her, his lips twitching.

She rolled her eyes at him, and tried not to notice how her two -- her two hus -- _partners_ \-- had that freshly showered shiny-flushed look on their skin. 

Maybe it was the leftover tree spirit energy or whatever, but that was definitely a full body tingle. Wynonna pulled in a shaky breath, shaking her head to get hold of herself.

“No whiskey upstairs,” Doc pointed out, and pushing a full glass towards her.

“That’s what you think,” she said, half-heartedly, but she didn’t actually have a bottle upstairs so it was an empty threat.

She sat at the table and took a hefty gulp. “Cheers,” she said. “To our recent matrimonials.”

Doc cleared his throat. "An honour, of course," he said, voice stilted.

“Congratulations are in order,” Dolls said, with that level I'm-your-boss tone he put on sometimes. “As a team, our ability to handle a crisis has grown exponentially --”

“Oh God,” Wynonna groaned.

“Another lecture,” Doc sighed.

“It’s not a lecture!” Dolls snapped. “I’m acknowledging our victories in the --”

“Victories,” said Doc flatly, and Wynonna's gut clenched. Okay, that was definitely not tree spirit tingling feeling, that was full-steam-ahead human angst. Great great great --

“Let’s hear you make the best of this, then,” Dolls challenged.

Doc sputtered, and turned away. “What purpose would it serve to placate ourselves, when we all know that what occurred --”

“We should really just fuck, then,” Wynonna said, the words out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Silence.

Crap.

She wasn’t going to say it, she definitely wasn’t going to --

“Wedding night sex could be hot, right?”

Another silence. 

It was a low moment when she was the one making the goddamn wedding night joke.

Dolls cleared his throat. “You aren’t thinking clearly --”

“Oh, fuck that," she said. "I’m thinking more clearly than I have for months." 

She'd been getting lost under the weight of all these unresolved, never-discussed _feelings_ , hanging heavy and thick between the three of them. What they could really use was some hot, sweaty, physical sex to clear the air.

And then afterwards --

She pulled her mind away from thinking about _afterwards_. That was a problem for future-Wynonna. Present-Wynonna had just sat through tree spirit foreplay and a fucking commitment ceremony, and was ready to get down to a goddamn wedding night. 

“Wynonna,” Doc said, and stopped. His eyes were wide and dark.

“I wasn’t the only one who felt that, right? In the woods? That whole warm shivery tree fertility shit?”

Doc inhaled. Dolls went still.

They were both staring at her, expressions intense. It was kind of eerie.

“Wynonna,” Dolls said slowly. “I feel that way about you all the time.”

Wynonna made herself relax. “Okay,” she said. “Okay. And how to do you feel about him?”

Dolls turned to look at Doc, who had been staring at Wynonna but turned to gaze back at Dolls, smoothly schooling his expression into impassivity. “Lately? Like I want to punch him just to shut him up,” Dolls said, and Doc’s expression didn’t change. He lifted his chin. Dolls added, “Except when I want to push him up against a wall and shut his mouth with my tongue.”

Wynonna felt her insides turn liquid. Hell yeah. When she looked over, Doc’s mouth had gone a little slack, his eyes dazed. It was a good look on him.

Dolls turned from Doc to her, his eyes flashing orange. “Okay?” he said, challenging.

“Okay by me,” she managed.

Doc said, faintly, “Pardon me. Do I get a say?”

“Of course you get a fucking say,” Dolls said explosively. “I would never -- if you didn’t --”

Doc was smiling now, his expression somehow impossibly smug. Wynonna had no idea why that was so hot. “Perhaps you and Wynonna would like to take turns attempting to make me shut my mouth. I assure you, I can put on quite a performance.”

Wynonna flushed hot, and grinned at him. "Yeah," she said. "I, for one, would definitely would like that."

She glanced over at Dolls, who was looking a little stunned. She kicked his leg gently, just to make sure he was paying attention, then she leaned over to Doc, her fingertips brushing the roughness of his stubble and threading into his dark hair. His lips were open just a little, and he made a small noise into her mouth when she kissed him -- as if he was the one who was surprised, as if she was the one proposing kinky competitive sex stuff across the kitchen table. His tongue was hot against hers, and she felt herself flushing again at the thought of Dolls watching them kiss in front of him.

When she pulled back, she murmured, "Am I winning?" 

Doc's eyes were bright, and he laughed. "Not yet," he said.

Dolls was staring at them both with a look of gratifying incomprehension on his face. "I --" he said.

"Come on," Wynonna said, before his logical brain could regain control, and she breathlessly leaned over to kiss him in turn. He leaned toward her, shoulders stretching under his henley, eyelashes flickering closed. His hand curled around the back of Wynonna's head, heavy and warm. 

When he drew back, his eyes dropped to her mouth, then back up to meet her eyes, lips curving. "Come on now," he said, voice gravelly. "The real challenge is which of us can make him scream the loudest."

Doc made a wordless noise behind her, which Wynonna took for agreement. They were all on their feet then, and Doc was kissing Dolls, open-mouthed and dirty, Dolls biting at Doc's lip.

"Definitely time for bed," Wynonna said, breathing shallowly, and she didn't even stop to pick up the whiskey bottle on their sloppy, enthusiastic way to the stairs.

They had all shed their clothes by the time they reached her bedroom. 

It was stupidly hot, the two of them in her messy bedroom, kneeling on the quilt her grandmother made, looking at her with that piercing intensity they both did so well. Looking at each other with that same intensity. Her room seemed smaller than it ever had before. As for her bed -- well.

Then there was Doc's tongue was between her thighs, Dolls mouthing at her throat. Her hands were on both of their bodies, shoulders, waists, thighs, dicks. She felt dizzy with sensation, drunk on body heat and the heavy smell of sex. Her blood was thrumming under her skin, but she was impossibly, undeniably certain, she had never been more sure of anything in her life -- 

\-- heavy golden pollen, thick tree roots, birds singing -- 

Anyway. Doc wasn't the only one who was loud.

\-----

In the morning, Wynonna woke up in the middle of her bed, almost smothered under two sets of heavy limbs. She shifted to breathe a little easier. Her body ached in that pleasant after-sex way, and she grinned up at her ceiling.

"Too early," Dolls muttered in her ear, his breath hot on her skin. 

"We're gonna need a bigger bed," she said, without thinking. Tree roots, cool soil, clear water, spring -- 

There was a pause. Dolls sounded more awake as he said, carefully, "Will we?"

She blinked and shook her head to clear out those stray thoughts. She turned her head towards the sleeping figure on her other side. "Well, there'll be no getting rid of him now," she said. 

"Ah. Right."

"Plus, I don't want to get rid of him," she added. In the small silence that followed, she said, "Do, uh, you?"

"No," Dolls said. "Not if he wants -- no."

Wynonna smiled. "Okay," she said. "Good. Also, we should go and plant some new trees."

"Pardon me," Doc said, a smile in his voice. "Do I get a say?"

Wynonna let out a groan and let it turn into a laugh as Doc's hand slid along her side. 

Dolls huffed warm breath against her neck, a quiet laugh. "You know, Earp," he said murmured, his voice muffled a little by her hair. "You're not as bad at this commitment thing as you think."

That was definitely a conversation for future-Wynonna. "Oh yeah? What should I put on my taxes, do you think?" she said instead. "Civil tree union?"

Dolls scoffed. "Like you pay taxes," he said.

Doc cleared his throat, mock-indignant.

"Fine," Wynonna said expansively. "What do you have to say?"

Doc's hand found Dolls' hand on the tender skin of her belly, lacing their fingers together against the warmth of her skin.

"I say yes," he said simply.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] commitment](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15216206) by [reena_jenkins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reena_jenkins/pseuds/reena_jenkins), [scintilla10](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scintilla10/pseuds/scintilla10)




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